Annabel - Two months
Two months since we first met this little lady. At times it's hard to remember life without her in our family. And then there are times that it's easy to recall how much easier life was with just one child (that sleeps through the night, that we can double up on or alternate, that doesn't need to eat every 2-3 hours...). Yet, challenges and all, she's the perfect addition to our family.
And because I am a huge sucker for comparisons, here is Carter and Annabel at 2 months. Although I catch glimpses of Carter in Annabel on occasion, this makes them look nothing alike! Also, her legs...they go on for days.
Ok, let's see. Annabel is 12 pounds 10 ounces and 23 inches long; clearly thriving! She's eating like a champ, becoming much more efficient thankfully. No longer are the 20 minute-per-side sessions. Hallelujah. I love snuggling with her, but that was tough. She also continues to take a bottle without problem, and I find myself wondering how we got so lucky with both taking to it so easily, and the standard Medela ones that come with the pump at that. No frantic trying 5 brands before we find one she will accept.
Those long legs...they have her in 6-month sleepers already. She's still squeezing into 3-month onesies, but barely snapping. I am so excited for some warmer weather to put her in all the adorable rompers and dresses that we have.
Our days lately consist of some TV watching (me) and napping (her) in the mornings, often in my arms but occasionally in the swing. I've tried putting her down to nap in her room, but she only lasts 5 minutes or so before crying hysterically that I dared to put her in there. She'll be starting daycare in two weeks, so Barb will have some work cut out for her there. Carter was the same. It's nice being a second-time mom and knowing all will be fine.
After her mid-morning feeding, we usually head out somewhere. For my sanity and because she sleeps awesomely in her car seat. Errands are a breeze with her right now, and I'm taking full advantage. So far it's been Target or Kohls or HomeGoods, or to pick up a sub. Then back at home to relax in the afternoon, playing on her playmat, cleaning up the kitchen, getting her to nap again somehow/somewhere. I try to have her fed and happy (and set down somewhere) when Jon and Carter come home so that Carter isn't immediately jealous and I can hug him.
Evenings are often a beast around here. Annabel wants to nurse A LOT, and I need to tend to Carter, dinner, bedtime, etc. So it's a battle. And Annabel has started showing an obvious preference to me by crying whenever Jon takes her and stopping the second she's back in my arms. This seems to be only in the evenings with him, usually when she wants to still be nursing so I can't blame her I guess. But, it does make it harder on me to do much of anything else.
Speaking of crying, she has the most adorable frown and cry ever. I chuckle every time, and then feel slightly guilty I'm laughing at her expense. I can never feed her fast enough, and the poor girl feels like the world is ending. So dramatic. Way more than I remember Carter.
Although she won't nap in her room, she does sleep in her crib at night! We first moved her bassinet to her own room at 5ish weeks. She wasn't sleeping soundly in our room, and frankly, her grunting kept me up too. I started being more consistent with the bassinet (vs just going with the swing for ease) and she started sleeping well in there. At 7 weeks I decided to transition her to her crib. She was starting to scoot in the bassinet and was running out of room with her long limbs. She rocked the move just fine! She woke twice that night, and ever since most often wakes once, around 1-2am and then sleeps until 5 or 6am. Usually at 5am wakeups I can just give her her pacifier and she goes back to sleep for another hour. It's seriously awesome, and again I'm not sure how we got so lucky there. The 4-hour stretches I get now are life-changing. YES.
Granted, we've had a couple hiccups to this marvelous sleep, including one night with her on the couch in my arms. But overall, we're in a good place, sleep-wise.
Annabel started smiling around week 5, though they were sparse to start. Now, she will smile at the wall when she's on her changing table, at the windows on occasion, and at us when we smile at her or engage her with high-pitched talking. She has a wide, open-mouthed smile just like her brother. It melts me to pieces. And makes all the tough moments with her erase from my memory.
Loves: her car seat (and rarely cries in the car), looking at windows, her singing elephant, pacifiers, her playmate, baths, the sound of running water, and being walked around. She also really loves me, and will often cry if she's in someone else's arms but hears (smells?) me nearby.
Dislikes: tummy time, napping in her crib, wiping her face, having to wait longer than 3 seconds to eat.
Some random photos over the last month:
Smiling after she pooped...very loudly...
My all-time favorite photo of us to date.
Oh how she's changed!
Weeks 1-8:
She falls asleep burping her like this all the time.
Weekly photos is a family affair.
I made Jon take some photos of me with the kids, because all I really have otherwise are selfies.
She always finds the TV.
And because I am a huge sucker for comparisons, here is Carter and Annabel at 2 months. Although I catch glimpses of Carter in Annabel on occasion, this makes them look nothing alike! Also, her legs...they go on for days.
Ok, let's see. Annabel is 12 pounds 10 ounces and 23 inches long; clearly thriving! She's eating like a champ, becoming much more efficient thankfully. No longer are the 20 minute-per-side sessions. Hallelujah. I love snuggling with her, but that was tough. She also continues to take a bottle without problem, and I find myself wondering how we got so lucky with both taking to it so easily, and the standard Medela ones that come with the pump at that. No frantic trying 5 brands before we find one she will accept.
Those long legs...they have her in 6-month sleepers already. She's still squeezing into 3-month onesies, but barely snapping. I am so excited for some warmer weather to put her in all the adorable rompers and dresses that we have.
Our days lately consist of some TV watching (me) and napping (her) in the mornings, often in my arms but occasionally in the swing. I've tried putting her down to nap in her room, but she only lasts 5 minutes or so before crying hysterically that I dared to put her in there. She'll be starting daycare in two weeks, so Barb will have some work cut out for her there. Carter was the same. It's nice being a second-time mom and knowing all will be fine.
After her mid-morning feeding, we usually head out somewhere. For my sanity and because she sleeps awesomely in her car seat. Errands are a breeze with her right now, and I'm taking full advantage. So far it's been Target or Kohls or HomeGoods, or to pick up a sub. Then back at home to relax in the afternoon, playing on her playmat, cleaning up the kitchen, getting her to nap again somehow/somewhere. I try to have her fed and happy (and set down somewhere) when Jon and Carter come home so that Carter isn't immediately jealous and I can hug him.
Speaking of crying, she has the most adorable frown and cry ever. I chuckle every time, and then feel slightly guilty I'm laughing at her expense. I can never feed her fast enough, and the poor girl feels like the world is ending. So dramatic. Way more than I remember Carter.
Although she won't nap in her room, she does sleep in her crib at night! We first moved her bassinet to her own room at 5ish weeks. She wasn't sleeping soundly in our room, and frankly, her grunting kept me up too. I started being more consistent with the bassinet (vs just going with the swing for ease) and she started sleeping well in there. At 7 weeks I decided to transition her to her crib. She was starting to scoot in the bassinet and was running out of room with her long limbs. She rocked the move just fine! She woke twice that night, and ever since most often wakes once, around 1-2am and then sleeps until 5 or 6am. Usually at 5am wakeups I can just give her her pacifier and she goes back to sleep for another hour. It's seriously awesome, and again I'm not sure how we got so lucky there. The 4-hour stretches I get now are life-changing. YES.
Granted, we've had a couple hiccups to this marvelous sleep, including one night with her on the couch in my arms. But overall, we're in a good place, sleep-wise.
Annabel started smiling around week 5, though they were sparse to start. Now, she will smile at the wall when she's on her changing table, at the windows on occasion, and at us when we smile at her or engage her with high-pitched talking. She has a wide, open-mouthed smile just like her brother. It melts me to pieces. And makes all the tough moments with her erase from my memory.
Loves: her car seat (and rarely cries in the car), looking at windows, her singing elephant, pacifiers, her playmate, baths, the sound of running water, and being walked around. She also really loves me, and will often cry if she's in someone else's arms but hears (smells?) me nearby.
Dislikes: tummy time, napping in her crib, wiping her face, having to wait longer than 3 seconds to eat.
Some random photos over the last month:
Smiling after she pooped...very loudly...
My all-time favorite photo of us to date.
Oh how she's changed!
Weeks 1-8:
She falls asleep burping her like this all the time.
Weekly photos is a family affair.
I made Jon take some photos of me with the kids, because all I really have otherwise are selfies.
She always finds the TV.
In short, we've had so much fun getting to know our little lady these last two months. I am so excited to see her sweet, yet feisty, personality grow!
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